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Carol Hall
Carol Hall is a Minuteman deserter who left the Commonwealth after their collapse for the far north. She has lived in a cabin in Moose River Valley since around 2285, living a tenuous existence on the frontier. Various threats have reared their heads to oppose Carol over time, but she has persevered so far. Biography Carol Hall was born on January 23, 2256, at University Point to Anthony Hall and Faith Hall, the second of three children. The Hall Family were fish vendors who bought fish from local fishermen and sold them to traders. Carol's early life was rather boring, mostly deboning fish and playing in the nearby ruins of the Commonwealth. Carol made quite a few friends in those recent years such as Bobbie Strickland and Izzie, and she was often more friendly to them than with her own family. In 2268, Carol found an undamaged terminal in the ruins and, with the help of her friends, hauled it back to University Point. One of her friends, Bobbie Strickland, complained to his parents about being 'forced' to haul back the terminal. This got Carol and all of her friends in trouble for bullying with their terminal being seized by adults. For this, Carol personally told Bobbie that he was a dirty liar. After hearing Bobbie's further whining, Carol socked Bobbie in the nose and got in more trouble. She was fine with that. She was less fine when she had to stay inside University Point due to increased raider attacks. Luckily, the raiders were later cleared out by the Minutemen, and she was able to explore again. Carol proved to be a bright child, excelling in her schooling at University Point. However, Carol's education was tertiary compared to social climbing. This became even more prominent as she grew into a teenager. Her old best friend Izzie grew more wild as she grew older. Carol saw that she soon had to make a decision on what to do with her life. Her parents encouraged her to follow in the family business. Most of her friends encouraged her to be a raider or a scavenger, roaming the Commonwealth. Meanwhile, Carol's friend Izzie tried to pressure Carol into joining a raider gang alongside her. It was a hard decision for Carol, and she came dangerously close to running away with Izzie. However, Carol eventually chose to take a third option. Over the span of her short life, Carol had heard numerous stories about the heroic actions of the Minutemen. However, that was not what attracted Carol to the Minutemen; it was instead the promise of ranging around the Commonwealth, gathering resources for herself, and possibly gaining political power in the future. So, Carol was relieved to leave University Point with her parents' blessing and go out to join up with a group of Minutemen in 2274. It turned the stories about the Minutemen had vastly exaggerated their power and competence. Since losing their base of operations at Fort Independence in 2240, the Minutemen had been in a steady decline with enemies seemingly around every corner. Nevertheless, Carol was still positive that the Minutemen would be her avenue to success and joined up with a large group of Minutemen. Carol Hall was given quite a bit of training to use weapons and follow orders from her superiors, specifically Major Camden Trescott who led Carol's group of Minutemen. Carol's training was short but efficient. She also got equipment that made her 'a Minuteman'. Another important part of Carol's training was socializing with other Minutemen in her group and befriending them. Her two best friends at this time were Jay Pryor (a former caravan guard from Diamond City) and Maxwell 'Max' Bolt (a former mercenary from Maine). Both were already quite experienced in combat, something Carol was well-aware of when she befriended them. Carol Hall was in the Minutemen for about ten years and gained a great amount of experience in the group, fighting across the Commonwealth again things such as raiders, super mutants, and synths. Just surviving that time was an achievement in itself. Carol bonded with Jay and Max quite deeply over the years. Jay opened up to Carol about his estranged family in Diamond City while Max told Carol in great detail his cabin in far northern reaches of Maine and offered to take her there after the Minutemen ‘won’. As long as the three of them survived, they could face the world it seemed. That is until it turned out she was sleeping with Jay behind Max’s back in 2280. That shattered the trio’s friendship and soon even Carol and Jay went their separate ways. By 2281, Carol Hall was a corporal in the Minutemen and in command of her own group of Minutemen. She had accumulated a great amount of equipment over the years such as her assortment of weapons and a Pip-boy on her arm. Carol was finally a contender within the hierarchy of the various Minutemen militias, if a small one, and she was comfortable with that for the moment, protecting little towns and yielding the rewards. Things changed radically in the spring of 2282 when General Becker, the leader of the Minutemen, suffered an unexpected death. This did not trouble Carol all that much, but for many of the Minutemen, Becker had been the only thing holding them together. Carol Hall’s attempts to try to climb the Minutemen’s hierarchy after Becker’s death only made her more any enemies and hastened the Minutemen’s decline as a cohesive organization. Nevertheless, Carol retained command of her small group and tried to retain cooperation with other Minutemen militias across the Commonwealth. She resisted her opportunistic urges, for a while a least. In 2283, Carol was mortified to hear of her old friend Max’s death at the hands of raiders, putting her situation in perspective. Quite a bit of the rest of that year was spent defending a collection of disparate farms on the fringes of the Commonwealth alongside other squabbling Minutemen against raider attacks. This further wore on Carol, and she finally began to see the writing on the wall. Carol finally decided that she was done with the Minutemen in early 2284. The internal strife, loss of popular support, and indefensible position just proved too much for Carol. She decided desertion from the declining group was the way to go. She at first considered going back to University Point to be a merc or caravans guard, but then thought “Why not use the men I have to start a raider gang? I can make many more caps that way!” Over the next month or so, Carol persuaded her entire group of Minutemen to desert alongside her and become raiders, though Carol’s plan was to prey on Institute synths and other raiders instead regular wastelanders (for the most part). This bit of moralizing self-justification would be what led to Carol’s exodus from the Commonwealth. The former Minutemen raiders kept their iconography to maintain a better sense of unity, even if it brought unneeded attention. After leaving the Minutemen, Carol and her group moved to College Square to gain a better position in Boston. That soon enough went sour as they came under near-constant assault from synths, raiders, and super mutants. The former Minutemen were blasted and battered this way and that by various forces. Carol saw her forces shrink week by week and soon began to look for a way out. College Square sustained a major attack from super mutants in mid-2284, scarring Carol's face rather badly. This convinced that it was about her time to make an exit from the raiding business. However, Carol was uncertain how to leave her own raider gang in a graceful manner. She decided that perhaps she could just take several of her former Minutemen and look for better opportunities. That was until disaster struck College Square in the early summer of 2284. Without warning, the Institute unleashed hell upon Carol and her group of former Minutemen. A small horde of synths teleported inside College Square's defenses and a fierce battle for survival ensued. Carol herself holed up in one of the buildings adjacent to College Square and scrambled to take stock of the situation. She was further horrified to hear that Conard Kellogg, the Institute's primary enforcer, was in College Square. Carol was informed soon afterwards why the Institute was attacking: Carol’s frequent attacks on their synths had provoked swift retribution. A Minuteman deserter who admitted to being covertly part of the Railroad told Carol this. This woman, named Laura, insisted she had meant no ill against Carol or any of the Minutemen by being part of the Railroad, asking for Carol's forgiveness in regards to her secrecy. That did not stop Carol from laying a bullet between Laura's eyes for her perceived betrayal, blaming her and the Railroad for the attack. That proved to be a foolhardy action on Carol's part. Killing Laura did not dissuade the Institute's assault on the College Square and soon enough, Carol finally abandoned her small close-knit group to save her own skin. Carol made her way back to her hometown of University Point to try to hide out for a while from synths. Her parents Anthony and Faith were very happy to see her for the first time in years, but her siblings were not so happy to see her, as they knew more about what Carol had been up to than their parents did. Carol did not stay in University Point long, however. She decided, in case synths was still tailing her, to take up residence in Goodneighbor in mid-2284, off the beaten path. They did not mind putting up with a rather cold Minuteman deserter. That was good for Carol for a brief time until word came that synths were on her trail (the Institute wanted to tie up some loose ends). Confused and scared by this, Carol quickly packed up and vacated her residence in the fall of 2284. She left the city limits of Boston after a day of walking and sat down on a ruined pre-War automobile to figure things out. The Commonwealth was practically off-limits to Carol now and she had little choice but to move somewhere else. She considered going south towards New York City and Capital Wasteland but deemed them both too unstable and too known to the synths. Perhaps she should go north? That was when Carol remembered her friend Max’s story about his cabin in Moose River Valley in Maine, “far from war and civilization”. Carol quickly dismissed her thought of the valley as unobtainable since she did not have any real idea where it was besides “far north”. She needed to get out of the Institute’s way quickly and so Carol set out west from Boston towards New York where she knew of some settlements. That was until Carol came across a fiefdom controlled by the Old Lords of New York, Whitehall. Carol observed the goings on of the serfs and was disgusted by the conditions within the settlement. Nonetheless, Carol went into Whitehall and slept in an inn. The next day, Carol shopped around Whitehall and managed to buy a holotape that could install a map of New England in her Pip-boy, which included an in-depth map of the Moose River Valley. With that, Carol decided to make her to her friend Max's homestead in Moose River Valley instead of Upstate New York. With that, she turned her back on the Commonwealth for good and decided a quiet life in Maine would beat being dead in Boston. The journey turned Carol right around, taking her northeast towards Maine. That took her first through the ruins of Rutland in Vermont. There, she met a old scrawny hermit of the occult named Styx who warned Carol of dangers ahead and offered to have tea with her. Carol was too reluctant to actually have tea with the hermit, but Styx sent Carol on her way with teabags, teacups, spoons, and a copy of one of his books nonetheless. Carol was a little creeped out while still accepting Styx's gifts. Moving on from the ruins of Rutland, Carol walked the ruins of U.S. Route 4. She warded off attacks from wildlife, tribals, and hillfolk until she came upon another settlement, White River, a frontier trading post and stockade. Carol decided to take a good long stop there. White River was a rough town, sitting at the ruined junction of a couple of pre—War roads, but Carol Hall felt like she could manage, as she had faced the worse the Commonwealth had thrown at her. The people of White River were a tough breed, constantly vigilant against raids from tribals, hillfolk, and worse things. However, the settlers still manage to make a living off of lumber and trade. They scratch by year by year, drinking frequently. The most popular place to get drunk in White River was Holland’s Owl, an inn and bar owned by the titular oddball Holland. Carol went there for shelter as snow began to fall in 2284 and bought herself a room. That night, Carol was at the bar having a drink when she was dog-whistled by a couple of the other barflies. Carol repeatedly told the harassers to fuck off but was ignored every time. After two days of constant harassment and one instance of a man groping her ass, Carol decided to finally play the pestering to her advantage. The third day of Carol’s stay at Holland's Owl was as cold as ever. Carol was trying to get a drink. Another gaggle of barflies came to harass her. However, this time Carol acted differently. She flirted with the drunks and indulged their touching. Nothing too far but enough. At the end of the night, the barflies stumbled out of Holland’s Owl only to find that their pockets were empty. They returned to the inn only to find Carol gone, already on the road north towards Moose River Valley. Before leaving White River, Carol had bought two games on tapes for her Pip-boy, Grognak & the Ruby Ruins and Red Menace, which entertained her for weeks afterwards. Soon after leaving White River, Carol Hall had an unfortunate encounter on the road. A large hunting party of hillfolk drove Carol off of the road and into the forest. The hillfolk hooted and howled, crazed at the prospect of capturing a healthy female. Carol managed to pick off two of the hillfolk but was continually driven south by her pursuers back southeast. Eventually, Carol came upon a circle of standing stones on the summit of a gentle hill. That seemed irrelevant to Carol until she noticed that the hillfolk had stopped their chase far outside of the circle of standing stones and were watching Carol with tangible fear on their faces. She was initially happy to see the chase had stopped and let out a cry of joy upon seeing the hillfolk leave. Resting her back against a standing stone, Carol took a much-needed break, played some of her tapes, and looked at her Pip-boy to gauge her location. She was rather put out to see that she was back in southeast Vermont. After figuring out her location, Carol examined the hill with the standing stones a little bit more. The standing stones and the area around them had the grass around them worn away, which seemed to not have been shaped by nature from Carol's perspective. That scared her, remembering the reaction of the hillfolk when they had seen here go among the standing stones. This awakened a new fear within Carol, and she stumbled away from the standing stones, taking an alternative path than before so as to throw the hillfolk off her trail. Carol finally got back on the road a day later and began her journey once again, nonetheless with a larger degree of caution. Soon enough, Carol made her way up U.S. Route 4 towards Moose River Valley. On the road in New Hampshire, Carol came across few other travelers. Even less were willing to strike up a conversation or trade. That scant trade kept Carol fed. The most notable traveler Carol met was a lone wanderer from the Detroit Wasteland named Cornelius. Cornelius and Carol held a long conversation about the wider wasteland, and they reminisced about their homes. Carol spoke wistfully of University Point while Cornelius talked about his birthplace Motor Town. Cornelius was a drifter who liked to think of himself as rootless but who ultimately still remembered where he came from. They drifted closer together as the night grew longer. Cornelius propositioned Carol then and there, and they had sex soon afterwards. It felt good for Carol but less than intimate. She just hoped she had not gotten pregnant. The two travelers parted their ways the next day, Carol to Moose River Valley and Cornelius back to his home in the Detroit Wasteland. Making her way north through New Hampshire, Carol came into more conflict with people on the road, mostly more hillfolk. Luckily, she met them only in small numbers and was able to fend them off. Personality Fundamentally, Carol Hall has always been a casual opportunist. Carol, even when she was in the Minutemen, regularly exploits circumstances to gain immediate advantage rather than be guided by any consistent principles. She prefers the term survivor to opportunist and is prepared to perform untold acts of brutality to gain an upper hand against potential threats. Carol has a low tolerance for weakness. However, Carol does have a moral compass irregardless of what it might seem, and her conscious occasionally emerges at the most inopportune times for her. Carol values friendship and loyalty (from others) in the highest regard, which is why lonely life in Moose River Valley has been hard for her. Her love of animals is the only thing that has kept Carol going. Carol prefers logic over faith and trusts little that she cannot see without her own eyes. This translates to skepticism towards things such as religion, superstition, and certain parts of pre-War technology on Carol's part. That has made her time in Moose River Valley even harder than she could have guessed. However, all the danger Carol has encountered in Maine has luckily not turned her paranoid as she is not quick to fear, and she is still more than willing to accept visitors to her isolated homestead. Appearance Carol has never been much of a looker but has never been very ugly at the same time. Her appearance was rather average with dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. Before joining the Minutemen, Carol was little more than a scrawny teenage girl. Carol's service in the Minutemen gave her a lean sinewy build and a collection of scars, the most prominent one being a facial scar gained from an encounter with one of the Institute's abandoned super mutants. She is strong for a woman but would still prefer not to get into a physical confrontation with a man. Equipment Carol's equipment is holdovers from her time in the Minutemen. This includes Carol's wardrobe, which is consistent with the Minutemen's general style right down to her hat. Most of Carol's attire consists of scavenged pieces of U.S. Army armor and leathers. The most notable piece of equipment she possesses is a Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV which she seized off a scavenger. That Pip-Boy has been very useful for Carol. The weapons Carol carries are of a more diverse variety. Her primary weapon is a combat rifle while she sometimes uses a hunting rifle as well. Carol's reliable sidearm is a 10mm pistol. Quotes By About